Jim has worked as an art director and studio manager, multimedia producer, learning materials and communication consultant, freelance filmmaker and musician. Within the Educational sector he has substantial experience of leading and managing cross organisational resource and operational imperatives including learning and teaching, academic workload, finance, and health and safety. With regard to contributions to the academic portfolio, Jim has designed and delivered learning and training across levels 1 – 7 in digital media including film, Interactive media, graphics and sound, and has a number of completed PhD supervisions in the general field of user experience.
Graduating with honours, Jim’s first degree was in ‘audio visual design’, his master’s degree was in ‘computing in design’ and his award-winning PhD explored the design and deployment of learning technology to support the acquisition and development of practical skills by art and design students studying in the UK.
Jim’s research interests were initially born out of the digital domain and revolve around user experience. His work presently explores the engagement of casual audiences and ‘showmanship’ within the context of street performance. Researching through ‘doing’, his study is couched in principles of ‘practice as research’, with an eye on the ephemeral nature of performance and the absence of perpetuity, and draws upon the theories of situation awareness and the reflective practicum.
Currently Jim advises on the design and deployment of a range of interactive and communication media; has been a Knowledge Transfer Partnership academic supervisor for e-learning and publishing-based knowledge transfer and exchange project and currently lectures to Film and TV Production. In his spare time Jim performs under the stage name of Ginger Geoffrey and continues to play around with a variety of digital media concepts, several of which having been published in Japan, Germany, USA and the UK.
